Using Technology to Organize and Oversee Children’s Activities

Technology has made the world a much smaller and busier place, many say. Being able to get more things accomplished in a smaller period of time is beneficial to many adults, but especially parents. Having a big family can mean hours spent per week checking homework, running from soccer practice to dance class and to the store for school supplies.

And while there is currently no such thing as the Rosie, the robot maid who did it all in the Jetsons cartoon, there is technology available which allows parents to monitor their children’s activities remotely.

Of course, this technology has raised many discussions about whether or not it’s a worthwhile addition to the realm of parenting. But some are saying that this type of technology is actually helping them to raise their children better. Here are some examples of technology which benefit both parent and child.

Parent Planner

Last year, a company in the United Kingdom announced Parent Planner, an app which allows parents to organize all of their children’s activities with their cell phone. The app allows busy parents to keep track of practices, upcoming due dates for lunch payments, and even remind them to pack sports equipment.

Parent Planner also includes a pay system called ParentMail +Pay, which is in use by many schools and clubs. The pay system can be linked with the app for any organizations where a child has membership for effortless payment of team dues and uniforms, among many other costs. As well, Parent Planner allows parents to authorize school trips with their cell phone and receive information from their child’s school.

The app can be shared between parents, allowing each to stay on top of what their kids are doing. Knowing what’s happening in their child’s life makes it easier for parents to become involved and ultimately improves the parent/child relationship, says the company.

Mobileminder

Mobileminder, released last year in Dublin, Ireland, offers parents many ways to monitor their children’s activities. The app provides parents with an overall picture of what their children are up to, from constant location monitoring to warnings when their child receives a less-than-appropriate text.

The app attempts to give parents peace of mind about the safety of their children in today’s technological world. Considering that many children now carry cell phones, threats like cyberbullying and electronic child-luring lurk around every corner.

MobileMinder give parents a peek into who their child is interacting with, both online and off. The app comes with a monitoring service counterpart at a low monthly charge. This monitoring will alert parents when one of their child’s contacts displays unusual behaviour or they download or receive inappropriate photos on their phone, which parents can delete remotely.

Also included is an “I’m Lost” feature, which will send a map and the child’s location to their parent, babysitter or older sibling when it has been activated by the child on their phone.

Child Care Daily

For parents with children in daycare, the Child Care Daily app can assist with increasing the parent-child connection. Installed on a parent’s computer or smart phone, the app receives communication from the day care center all day long, helping parents to participate in every minute of their child’s day, even though they cannot be there physically.

This sort of app also benefits day care staff by eliminating the need to fill out daily reports manually. It also keeps them accountable, and allows them to focus more of the day on teaching their young students.

Although some may be of the opinion that there is no technological replacement for the stern eye of a parent, there have been many polls and studies conducted which reveal technology’s many benefits to both parent and child.